Folding Hand Toolkits consisting of elongated tools have long been used by tradesmen and homeowners alike. These toolkits comprise of a plurality of related tools arranged in an assortment of sizes for a given tool type such as screwdrivers, hex wrenches and Torx® drivers or arranged as a variety of tools each with different functions that might be used to perform a given undertaking such as sets of common elongated tools for repairing a bicycle or tools commonly used by fishermen. It is conceivable that Folding Hand Toolkits can be produced to benefit any conceivable sport, hobby or trade. The tradesmen and homeowners are benefited with the convenience of an organized set of tools situated in a common holder to perform the task at hand.
Folding Hand Toolkits have been developed utilizing various types of containment handles usually made of metal and/or plastics. Some toolkits have freely pivoting elongated tools some are equipped with locking mechanisms to saddle or secure an elongated tool in an extended position for use.
A common feature of Folding Hand Toolkit is that the pivoting portion of the traditional elongated tool has been manufactured to produce the desired pivoting effect by deformation of an extended tool shaft through a manufacturing operation commonly called looping in which the extended tool shaft is bent into a circular configuration to conform to the stationary shaft on which it pivots around. This extended tool that has been looped is called an elongated tool.
Common faults and criticisms of Folding Hand Toolkits of this nature are that over time and use, the mounted elongated tools become loose and floppy. Among the reasons for this phenomenon is that in their general application and use the elongated tools are subject to a high degree of torque; other reasons are due to wear factors. When the elongated tools are placed in an application that results in high torsion the elongated tool in use is acting against the side walls of the handle, the stationary shaft that they pivot around and the other elongated tools that are mounted on the same stationary shaft. Often there is inadequate support from one size elongated tool to an adjacent elongated tool of a different size or function in the same Folding Hand Toolkit. Inventions and techniques addressing this situation have been employed by Hand Toolkit inventors, designers and manufacturers to prevent or minimize the loosing up of the elongated tools. Among the solutions to oppose subject forces acting at the base aft end of the elongated tools that have been proposed by inventers, designers and manufacturers are to:                Minimize the number of assembled pieces the handle is made of so that it will possibly flex less.        Adding convoluted and/or gusseted structures to the handle for additional strength.        Using high strength thermoplastics plastics sometimes reinforced with fiber materials in the handle section of the tool kit for additional resistance to deform under high loads.        Supplying adjustment capabilities such as a screw adjustment of the stationary shaft so that as parts wear and deform the slack can be taken up by improving alignment and/or increased compression from the side walls of the handle.        Usually the looped base aft end of the elongated tool that is in use is applying forces against the elongated tool that is positioned adjacent to it. However in most instances the looped surface of one elongated tool does not mate and uniformly support against the surface of the next elongated tool due to the cross sectional size difference of the substrate stock each tool is made of. To improve this situation metal or plastic washers (spacers) placed separately or molded into a handle have been incorporated to more uniformly distribute the applied loads between each elongated tool and between the handle side walls and stationary shaft. They also assist in keeping the elongated tools aligned.        
Inherent in the design and manufacture of traditional looped elongated tools is the looped base forms an incomplete and unsupported tail section of the aft end of the elongated tool. The primary functions of the looped tails are to provide a surface for radial and axial loading and to provide sufficient encompassing of the base tail section at the aft end of the elongated tool that has been mounted on a stationary shaft to prevent the elongated tool from dislodging from its pivoting location. Consequently when a high torque application is applied, the aft end looped tail base of the elongated tool is subject to torsion forces. These forces can deform the looped base tail section in two ways; the first being that the radial axis can be bent into a helical form; the second is that the looped tail of the elongated tool can deform by the opening of its original diameter thus deforming by bowing the looped tail, increasing the original diameter or producing an oblong shape. In either case when the looped tail is deformed from, its original intended dimension in high torque applications deformation due to the resulting torsion often results. The outcome can be a loose and floppy fitting elongated tool.
Long-established methods using looping techniques have been found to be inflexible in their inherent design and often costly when integrated with the handle sections of a Folding Hand Toolkit. An example can be illustrated when design consideration is given to producing a standard array of both metric hex keys and fractional hex keys for a Folding Hand Toolkit. A standard set of hex keys is most easily and most commonly produced from standard sized hexagon stock. The stock is simply cut to length, looped to a specific inside diameter and then proceeds with various deburring, heat treating and finishing operations to produce a functional elongated tool. In most cases when the arrays of sizes are assembled within the confines of the handle they are arranged in a descending order of size. It is common that several of the larger sizes be assembled on one side of the handle and that the smaller sizes are assembled on the opposite side of the handle. A typical configuration for a Folding Hand Toolkit for common metric hex key include sizes 8 mm, 6 mm and 5 mm located on one side of the handle and 4 mm, 3 mm, 2.5 mm, 2 mm and 1.5 mm located on the opposite side. Adding the dimensions for the first side of the handle the sum is 19 mm (or 0.74803 in.) and 13 mm (or 0.51181 in.) on the opposite side. A typical configuration for a Folding Hand Toolkit for common fractional hex key sizes in a Folding Hand Toolkit includes sizes ¼ in., 7/32 in., 3/16 in on one side of the handle. The opposite side of the handle is fitted with 5/32 in., 9/64 in., ⅛ in., 7/64 in., 3/32 in., and 5/64 in. and when you add the dimensions for each side of the handle the sum is 0.65625 in. (or 16.67 mm) on one side and 0.70312 in. (or 17.86 mm) on the opposite side. This example makes clear that design consideration has to be made to accommodate the difference in the width of the handles to have capacity for the variety of elongated tool combinations. What is illustrated is that when comparing just two similar in function Hand Toolkits, that when designing the handle sections of each side of both the metric hex key sizes and fractional hex key sizes, consideration must be made to the dimensions of each side. There is little dimensional commonality between one seemingly similar Folding Hand Toolkit to the next.
The inflexibility in design is further amplified when considering the small number of Folding Hand Toolkits that are equipped with tool locking mechanisms. When a Folding Hand Toolkit is equipped with a locking mechanism and experiences torsion deformation of the pivoting base looped tail of the elongated tool from its original intended dimensions the function of the locking mechanism becomes increasingly problematic. In most circumstances the Locking Folding Hand Toolkits require more accurate tolerances during the manufacturing process. The design of a Locking Folding Hand Toolkits dictates that the tolerance integrity is maintained for the life of the toolkit.